She grabbed Robo’s harness but allowed him to lead her through the trees and bushes. In the distance, she heard a roar that could only be coming from the tiger. A shot fired, very close and upwind. Mattie flinched. Are they firing at us?
No bullets zinged past. Mattie looked over her shoulder to check on Cole. Rifle at the ready, he was only a few paces behind her. She held Robo at heel with her left hand as they crept forward.
Through the trees, she spotted the edge of a ridge. They’d been coming up a hogback, and it looked like the ground dropped off in about fifty yards. Stealing through the trees, she scanned the edge until she spotted the shooter. Forty yards away, he stood on top of the ledge with his back toward her, sweeping the terrain in front of him with a pair of binoculars, his rifle held loosely at his side.
He’d fired the gun within the last few minutes, and she counted on the blast dampening his hearing. She released Robo’s collar, withdrew her Glock, and sprinted forward, holding it in a two-handed grip out front. She covered the last twenty yards in an instant, Robo beside her.
“Freeze! Timber Creek County Sheriff! Do not move!”
The man whirled. It was Flint Thornton.
“Robo, guard!” Mattie pinned him with her Glock while Robo snarled at her side, white teeth gleaming. “Drop your weapon, Flint! Drop it!”
A collage of astonishment, frustration, and then fear chased across Flint’s face. He raised the hand that held the binoculars into the air and slowly bent forward to drop his rifle onto the ground. As he straightened, he raised both hands toward the sky.
TWENTY-FIVE
“Don’t move or this dog will attack. Do you understand?”
Flint nodded, eyeing Robo and then Mattie as she approached, gun extended. She moved close enough to kick the rifle away and then followed through with a few extra shoves until she could safely bend to pick it up. Only then did she glance at Cole, who stood with his rifle sighted on Flint.
She backed up to be near Robo, carrying Flint’s rifle with her but keeping her handgun trained on him. The last thing she wanted was for Cole to be placed in a position where he had to shoot a young man he knew.
“Do you have any other weapons, Flint?”
He stood still, moving nothing but his eyes as they shifted between her and Robo and back. “No.”
She pointed to a large pine about six feet from him. “Move slowly. Put your hands up against that tree. If you try to touch me, this dog will attack. Robo, guard.”
Robo hovered, his toenails digging into the earth as if ready to launch. Mattie patted Flint down, extracting a small pocketknife from his jeans pocket before she finished.
“I forgot I had that,” Flint murmured when she showed him the knife.
She didn’t argue with him, since she suspected he probably had forgotten—a pocketknife was standard gear for most farmers and ranchers. She pulled his cell phone from one of his shirt pockets.
“All right, Flint, you can turn around and talk to us now.” Mattie glanced at her dog, who looked more than eager to get a chance to bite. “Out, Robo.”
Robo looked disappointed and adjusted his fierce stance only one degree. Flint turned to face her, his hands raised.
“You can lower your hands, but keep them where I can see them. Don’t make any sudden movements.” Mattie gestured toward Robo. “He still has his eye on you.”
The hands came down slowly an inch at a time.
“What in the hell are you doing out here?” Mattie asked.
Flint shook his head and studied the ground.
“We’ve seen the tiger. We know you’re hunting it.”
He looked up at her, his face showing his concern.
“Why are you shooting at it?” Mattie asked.
“I’m not.”
“Well, someone is, and my dog led us right to you.”
“I’m just shooting into the air.”
Mattie narrowed her eyes as she studied him, considering what he’d said. Was this how Wilson Nichol had been killed? A stray shot into the air? “What’s the purpose of firing into the air? Those bullets come down somewhere, you know.”
Flint shook his head and lowered his gaze, his lips tight.
“What’s going on, Flint? There are other law enforcement officers out here, and we need to know what we’re getting into. Where are Tyler and his hunting party?”
He eyed Robo, his jaw clenched.
Cole spoke up. “Flint, your dad isn’t going to be happy with whatever you’re hiding. It might go easier for you at home if you help us straighten this out and keep someone from getting hurt.”
Flint’s clenched teeth told Mattie he wasn’t going to talk, and she didn’t have time to waste. She took out her cell phone and called Brody.
He connected immediately. “What’s up, Cobb?”
Mattie explained the situation. “He’s not talking, but I think he’s trying to herd the tiger toward Tyler’s group. Be careful. Where are you now?”
“We’re about a mile farther uphill from where we left you.”
“I can use Flint’s cell phone to call Tyler and tell him to call off the hunt.”
Brody paused, evidently weighing the pros and cons. Mattie had considered those herself, but much as she’d like to catch the hunters red-handed, it was too dangerous for them all to be in an area where a stray bullet could hit any one of them—not to mention the poor tiger. If they could get the hunters to stand down, they had a chance of keeping the animal alive.
Brody finally answered. “Probably a good idea to call him. Cuts down on the chance of collateral damage.”
“I’ll call you back.” Mattie disconnected her phone, and then she tapped and swiped the screen on Flint’s cell phone until she found a number for Tyler Redman. She and Flint locked eyes while she listened to the phone ring and ring. “Why isn’t he answering, Flint?”
Flint shrugged.
Mattie continued to listen to the ringing while her temper rose. “So you’re willing to take the rap for this one, huh? We’ve got two murders and all kinds of wildlife violations here that we can slap you with. You’re willing to take the heat?”
The message sounded in her ear, a friendly Tyler Redman telling her to please leave a message. “Tyler, this is Deputy Cobb with the Sheriff’s Department. Cease this tiger hunt at once. Do you understand? We need you to stand down. Don’t shoot. There are people out here that you could hurt. Call me back at Flint Thornton’s number. Now.”
She looked at Cole as she disconnected. “Shall we tie him and leave him here while we ride on?”
Flint’s face blanched. “You can’t leave me tied up with that tiger in the woods.”
“Cooperate, then,” Cole said.
Again, Flint clammed up.
Mattie sent Brody a quick text that she’d been unable to reach Tyler and then strode up close to Flint, pulling her cuffs from her utility belt. “Place your hands together.”
Flint glowered but did as he was told.
Mattie snapped on the cuffs. “Where’s your horse?”
He shrugged and nodded off to the right, where she glimpsed his horse tied in a clump of spruce.
“Robo, out,” she said, calling off her dog before gesturing toward Flint’s horse. “Start walking.”
* * *
It didn’t take long for them to mount up, and Mattie led the way down and around the hogback before finding a game trail that she hoped would lead them close to Brody and Glenna. Cole led Flint’s horse while the cowboy sat slumped in his saddle, looking defeated.